Academics News

It’s the underdogs, Dr. Jodie Winship says, who tug at her heart, the unpopular, the excluded, the downtrodden, the people whose circumstances often separate them from the rest. Her explanation is quite organic. “We were poor growing up and didn’t have a lot,” she says, “so I was always for that kid who didn’t have it.”
There’s a symmetry that often blossoms between sisters, shared commonalities that become unmistakable. Ebony Ware-Parks and Kiera Ware could have enjoyed such a uniformity when they chose colleges.
UWA students Devon Williams and Cameron Preston.

Initially, at least, Cameron Preston’s career aspirations didn’t include scrubs and stethoscopes. The University of West Alabama, where he’s a senior, was less than an afterthought. “Actually, I wanted to go to the NBA,” he said. “But God had other plans for me.”

Combining hefty doses of college advising and tough love, Dr. Mary Hanks and two of her University of West Alabama colleagues in January will embark on a mission to help female students of color not only adjust to life on campus, but also succeed.
Alabama, says Dr. Brian Keener, is the most biologically diverse state east of the Mississippi River. Home to large-scale forests, Appalachian foothills, coastal plains and miles of waterways, it’s also a treasure trove for researchers searching for novel species of plants.
Since 1991, the International Ichnofabric Workshop — a scientific conference related to the field of ichnology — has been held semi-annually across the globe, from Taipei to the Czech Republic, from Spain to Turkey. Livingston, Alabama, now belongs on that list.
UWA graduate student Olivia Canada

Had she preferred, Olivia Canada could have chosen an easier path to a master’s degree at the University of West Alabama. She could have taken her time, enjoyed the process, made a few memories. But that wasn’t her choice.

Dr. Mustafa Morsy in lab

Famine didn’t mar the childhood of Dr. Mustafa Morsy, a professor of biology at the University of West Alabama. Food for his family in Alexandria, Egypt, was readily available. “I was always thankful as middle-class people growing up that my dad was able to feed us,” he said.   

students on theatre stage

Rhonda Wooley’s plans, had the Covid-19 pandemic not delayed them, were to take the University of West Alabama’s theatre students on a tour of high schools and community colleges -- a traveling showcase of musical and theatrical talent.

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